Posted: 1/17/2005 2:47:17 PM EDT
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First of all, sorry if this is a dupe...I haven't been around much lately... Anyways, what does everyone think of the new Mac? Are you thinking about ditching Windows to go for this $499 model? I myself haven't used a Mac in over 7 years, so I'm just thinking aloud from the sidelines here... |
My wife used a Mac at work, about 7 or 8 years ago. I often browsed the web on it waiting for her. I couldn't stand the controls, the look, the function, how slow it was. Fast forward to two years ago. My PC went TU, so I was shopping for a replacement. A friend of mine told me to at least look at the Macs. I did. I was impressed to say the least. I still use PCs at work, and I compare the two all the time. IMO the Mac comes out on top. |
DVD writer can be added as an option. And be careful about comparing PC parts and Mac parts. Just because the video card doesn't sound impressive by PC standards does not mean it won't perform. |
No shit Sherlok. I've used Macs before and they mouse they ship with has ONE button. |
Actually it won't perform. In the PC world the ATI 9200 is a re-optimized 8500, a Directx 8 part that is over 3 years old. In the Mac world we will have OSX 10.4 Tiger coming out with Core Image that will give all kinds of neat eye candy to the desktop. Of course, the 9200 doesn't support all those features so it will be limited on Apple's newest gee-whiz product loaded with their lastest shiney OS. Apple fucked up on this one. They should have gone with an ATI Mobility 9600 which is just as cheap to implement as the 9200. |
The Mini iMac doesn't come with a mouse.  You're supposd to use the one you have now.
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What if it's your first computer? |
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www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1751694,00.asp The Mac Mini: Less Than You Think ............................The Mac Mini is certainly cheap—for a Macintosh. But for your $499, you get a system with a 40GB hard drive, 256MB of DDR333 memory and an ATI Radeon 9200 with an execrable 32MB of video memory. The only reason you even get a 9200 is that Apple's chipsets lack integrated video. Some would say that's a good thing for gamers, but the minimalist 32MB of frame buffer belies that. Did I mention there's no keyboard, mouse, or display? So I feel compelled to point out that for $399, you can get a Dell 2400 with a 2.4GHz Celeron, 256MB of RAM, 40GB hard drive, 17-inch CRT and a keyboard and mouse? And that does include Windows XP Home Edition. Gateway has something similar, except it comes with an 80GB hard drive and speakers—although that $399 is a post-$100 rebate price. If you configure a Mac with a keyboard, mouse and display, you can easily add about $100 to the price, assuming you're adding aftermarket accessories, not Apple gear. If you're buying direct from Apple, that total climbs to $557 (Mac Mini with keyboard) plus $159 (NEC 17" display), for a total of $714. Add another $50 for speakers, and you're at $764. A Dell 4700 system with similar memory and storage, plus a 128MB Radeon X300, goes for $779. The X300 is really no better than the 9200 in terms of performance, but with 128MB of RAM, you'll at least be able to play a few games. Plus, the Dell system ships with a 2.80GHz Pentium 4. Best of all, you can easily expand the 4700 to better graphics and a beefier hard drive when the need arises.................... |
Then you walk over to the section of the Apple Store that sells mouses (mice?). That gets to the point of why I posted this thread...many think this is a bait and switch product...to get ppl. into the store (maybe ipod owners) and move them up to more expensive Macs. If you factor in the price of a CRT monitor, mouse, and keyboard, I believe it is the same price as the cheapest eMac. Apple will probably try to switch new pc buyers to those...just a thought... |
Dual layer dual format DVD writer, you sure? Also I know the Ati 9200 part, it sucked 3 years ago, it sucks now. They are the same as the PC 9200s. slow and worthless for any modern 3d needs. Now if you are stuck playing games from 2-3 years ago like Mac people usually are, then its probably ok. |
Here is a test done by Tom's Hardware. They ran the EG2 up against the 9200 and several others. The 9200 is ~2-4x faster depending on the test. Again the 9200 is an old part that will not fully support Tiger's Core Image. |
I guess my point here is you have to go to the $909 Dell to get a better graphics card. We should be comparing bargain PC to bargain Mac. Not bargain Mac to performance PC. |
Xgrid You mean something like this? |
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Some people have a bias against Macs, but I'd do a side-by-side comparison yourself. (Mac haters will say "no" without any thought--the reverse applies for Mac lovers.) I am a Windows administrator for a small business network, I am also pretty adept Unix and Linux administration, and two years ago a friend introduced me to Macs. Mac OS X is a beautifully designed OS: it's much robust than any Windows system (sorry but its true), it's system of permissions make it less vulnerable to virii (not to mention less people write them for Mac), and they're a thousands upon thousands of applications including Microsoft Office. There are some areas where OS X really shines like wireless networking, which IMO windows and linux still lag behind. You will still need some computer security knowledge to avoid malware, etc. However, I think Mac OS is much better implemented in terms of administration and daily use. It has many of the advantages of Linux without the aggrivation of managing and setting up such a machine. Don't get me wrong: windows and linux have their purposes and I have both in my house (as well as workplace). However, Mac OS is by far my favorite OS and they're hardware is very well designed. If you're due for new hardware and already have a monitor, keyboard and printer, I'd definitely consider it if I were you. ETA: Some of the criticisms of this being light in terms of hardware specs have some validity. This is a low-end machine. It won't blow the doors off the latest P4s or G5s (on the Mac side). If you need to do video work or like gaming, this isn't for you--well, it'll be a compromise at the very least. If you want to have OS X and have a monitor/keyboard, it might be for you. That said, it might not be right for you. A balls out machine (windows, mac, or linux) will cost you more, period. |
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We have three on the way. We have several iBooks that have specs very close to those of the Mac mini, and they perform well enough. We're replacing several $15k Sun workstations with the Minis, and the $500 Minis are faster than them. It's by far the cheapest way to get a UNIX workstation, so I'd say go for it if you already have a mouse, keyboard and monitor. If you don't, then the package deals from Dell are tempting. About the one-button mouse issue, it bothered me when I used a Mac for the first time in October, but after a few days of using it, it hasn't since. The interface on the Mac is thought-out well enough to almost never need it. Jobs is right that the other mouse button is a bad crutch for interface designers.z |
You could spend probably $100 on a video card and have something better than that 9200. That would bring the prices even up right? ($399 dell, $499 mac mini ???) However I should add, the market for either of these machines is not meant to be someone looking for uber performance. It would be for computer neophytes, or the style concious. |